Fern Hill Expectations & General Information for Parents

The information below covers our expectations of pupils and how they should present themselves and behave in school. It also includes useful advice for parents. We ask all families to support us in making our school a place where everyone: pupils, parents and staff, can work together in a calm and well-ordered environment which is conducive to teaching and learning. We remind the children of the expectations we have of them regularly and would be very grateful if you could help us enforce these by discussing them with your child at home.

School uniform

Our school uniform is supplied by PMG School Wear. All items can be purchased online from www.pmgschoolwear.co.uk or at their shop in Chessington. 

Ties are worn by both girls and boys in Years 3-6 and should be tied sensibly. Please make sure your child’s tie is clearly named.

Summer dresses may be worn in the Summer term. This should be a red striped school dress. Stripped dresses are available from our uniform supplier, PMG School Wear, and Marks & Spencer or John Lewis.

School shoes must be black and comfortable. Ankle, long or wellington boots and trainers may not be worn in school, nor may any type of sandal or open-toe shoe.

Jewellery, of any kind, must not be worn in school. If your child is wearing jewellery in school they will be asked to remove it for the day and will be able to collect it from their class teacher or the school office at the end of the day.

Earrings, even studs, are not permitted under any circumstances for health and safety reasons. If your child arrives at school wearing earrings, they will be sent to the school office. Staff in the office will use their discretion to decide if your child should remove their earrings during school time or have them covered with micro pore tape. We would appreciate your support with this policy; if your child is having their ears pierced, please arrange for this to be done at the start of the summer holiday so their ears have time to heal before returning to school.

Make up or nail polish is not permitted. Hair should be neatly tied back and hairstyles appropriate for a primary school setting. Hair accessories worn must be small and subtle.   

Watches may be worn but they must be sensible. Smartwatches, fitness trackers and any device with an alarm, alert or camera are not permitted because they are distracting for children in the classroom.

Mobile phones may not, under any circumstances, be used in school. If your child needs to contact you for any reason, they should ask their class teacher. Only children who travel to and from school on their own should bring a mobile phone to school. Phones must be handed into the class teacher at the start of the day and may be collected from them at the end of the school day.

Behaviour before and after school in the playground

Children should not use the play equipment in either the front or rear playgrounds before or after school for safety reasons. This includes the outdoor gym equipment, climbing frames and climbing walls. Staff do not supervise these areas outside of the school day. Children are not permitted to bring their own footballs to school and should not play football immediately before or after school. They can, of course, play football during their breaks using school equipment.

Security

The school playground gates are locked 5 minutes after the whistle has been blown in the mornings: the KS1 gate is locked at 8.55 am and the KS2 gate at 8.50 am. Gates are not re-opened until 3.10 pm at the end of the school day. We ask all parents and children who are not attending an after school club or Tree Tops to leave the playgrounds promptly. The gates to the KS1 playground are locked promptly at 3.30 pm and the gates to the KS2 playground at 3.35 pm. This is to ensure the school is secure for the pupils and staff still on the school site. Collection points for after school clubs are displayed on the door of school reception. Parents and carers collecting pupils who are attending after school clubs should wait outside of the school gates or school reception area.

Scooters and bikes

Scooters and bikes must not be ridden anywhere on the school site for safety reasons. Please dismount from them before entering the site at the entrance on the Richmond Road. Scooters may not be left inside the school building or in the playgrounds during the day but can be locked to the scooter ‘mushrooms’ or bike racks that we have available. Scooters and bikes must be appropriately secured at all times as the school can not accept responsibility for their security. 

Dogs

We have a duty of care to all our families and because of this, dogs are not permitted anywhere on the school site. Please do not leave your dog unattended outside the school site while you drop off or collect your child.

Teacher availability

Class teachers are available at the end of most school days when they dismiss your child from the playground and you are welcome to discuss brief items with them at this time. If you need longer than a minute or two, please make an appointment to see them after school. You can request an appointment by writing a note in your child’s home school diary or contacting the school office by email or telephone. For children in Nursery, Reception and Years 1 and 2, class teaching assistants are available to take messages for class teachers in the morning when they welcome the children into school.

What to do if you have a worry or concern

Please don’t hesitate to speak to us on any issue, no matter how trivial you may think it is. A strong home school partnership is essential to support your child’s learning and to provide them with the best possible educational experience so it’s very important we know if you are worried about something. Please approach your class teacher in the first instance by booking an appointment to discuss your concern. If you would like to speak to another member of staff or are dissatisfied with the response from your class teacher, our contact policy is as follows:

Nursery & Reception: Mrs Matthewson, EYFS Phase Leader

Years 1 & 2: Miss Duffy, KS1 Phase Leader

Years 3 & 4: Mrs Davies, Lower KS2 Phase Leader

Years 5 & 6: Mrs Brechin, Upper KS2 Phase Leader

Members of the Senior Leadership Team, including the Headteacher, are also available to speak to parents. They are at the school gates every morning to welcome the children into school and are happy to answer any queries if they can. If you would like a meeting, please book an appointment with the school office.

The Senior Leadership Team is as follows:

Mr A. Scott, Headteacher

Mrs S. Stephenson, Deputy Headteacher

Miss R. Crook, Deputy Headteacher

Mrs A. Davis, Assistant Headteacher

Mrs L. Figueiredo, Assistant Headteacher & Inclusion Lead

Absence

Children are expected to be in school every day unless they are ill. If your child is ill, please contact the school office by 8.30 am on the day of absence so that it can be noted on the register. You can contact the school office by either telephone or email. Please do leave a message if the telephone is not answered. If we have no record of notification of your child’s absence, we will contact you by telephone to ensure your child is safe.

Attendance

It is every important that your child comes to school every day on time. Across the school, lateness is closely monitored. Children are expected to be in their classroom, ready for their first lesson, before the registers close. Class registers for KS1 (Years 1 and 2) close at 8.55 am  and for KS2 (Years 3 – 6) at 8.50 am. If your child arrives after this time, they will be given a late mark. Children arriving after the playground gates have closed must come into school via the school office and if it is after 9.00 am, a parent or carer must sign their child in at the school office and provide a reason for their lateness. Your support in getting your child to school on time, every day is greatly appreciated; being on time has a very significant impact on the effectiveness of lessons and your child’s learning.

Children travelling to school alone

If your child travels to and/or from school on their own, please inform us in writing. We will then monitor their arrival and inform you if they have not arrived in time for the Register. The children may bring a mobile phone to school but this must be handed into their class teacher in the morning for safe keeping.

Requests for written reports on children's progress

The teaching staff fulfil all their legal requirements for report writing which includes a written report for your child at the end of the academic year. Formal verbal feedback on your child’s progress is provided twice a year at our Parents’ Evenings held in the Autumn and Spring terms. If you would like an academic report to provide to another school, we will send a copy of your child’s last written report and their most recent assessment results. There is no charge for this.

Healthy lunches

Our in house catering team can provide your child with a healthy, hot lunch every day. You can find further information on our lunches, including the menu, cost and booking process on the website. Your child may also bring a packed lunch from home. All the children eat together in the Large Hall regardless of whether they are having a school lunch or a packed lunch. Please note that we are a nut free school. There are children with severe nut allergies and it is very important that they do not come into contact with any nuts or traces of nut. Please do NOT include any nuts or products containing nuts in your child’s packed lunch. This includes nutella and other chocolate spreads.

At Fern Hill we encourage all children to lead a healthy and active lifestyle and ask parents not to send confectionery into school, either for their child’s lunch or break time/after school club snack or as a treat for their child’s class to celebrate a birthday or religious or cultural festival. Events which are significant to a child such as a birthday are always celebrated in school, either in class or assembly or both. If you would like to provide a treat for your child to share with their peers, we would encourage you to bring in a book to go in their class library (they can inscribe their name and age inside the front cover) or a small piece of stationery but there is no obligation to do this.